City Council Has Full Plate Tonight Salary Hikes For City Management, Lincoln Street Bridge, ‘98 Spending Plan On Tonight’s Agenda

Spokane City Council members will confront three controversial topics tonight: proposed salary hikes for top managers, a 1998 spending plan and the Lincoln Street bridge project.

The marathon meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the council chambers of City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.

City Manager Bill Pupo is asking the council to boost the salaries of 14 top managers and two administrators by nearly 2 percent. Some employees may get more through merit raises.

Pupo said last week the raises are necessary to prevent top officials from joining unions or leaving for higher pay elsewhere.

The total pay package will cost taxpayers about $32,000, because the raises will be retroactive to Jan. 1.

The positions held by Pupo and Phil Williams, the former director of planning services, have been dropped from the original list of employees slated for pay hikes.

Williams was fired last month after disobeying Pupo’s orders to stay at “arm’s length” from a state-mandated incinerator study.

Pupo’s proposed raise was withdrawn to give council members more time to evaluate his performance.

After the pay hikes, the council will deliberate over the 1998 proposed general government spending plan. They have closed public testimony on the budget and plan to vote on the matter tonight.

The proposed plan calls for increased spending, from $123.3 million in 1997 to $124.4 million next year.

The general government fund pays for everything from public safety to parks and recreation.

Under the proposal, residents likely will pay about $2.87 a month more for water, sewer and garbage collection. They also will pay $10 more for a business license, from $50 to $60, and about 37 cents a month more for cable television due to a new utility tax.

Nonresidents will pay a surcharge for ambulance service if they need emergency medical care while inside city limits.

The city plans to hire a public information coordinator for $28,081 a year and give $75,000 more a year to the neighborhood services program.

Council members also will hear from members of the citizens advisory committee charged with reviewing the Lincoln Street bridge project.

Last month, the committee voted 9-8 in favor of going ahead with the bridge.

Committee members will present reports from those who oppose and support the project.

Council members are expected to vote on whether to proceed with the project.

Councilman Jeff Colliton plans to recommend the project be shelved indefinitely. His proposal calls for completing the bridge design by February as planned but immediately halting spending after that.

Colliton has said he doesn’t think old reasons for building the bridge, such as air quality and traffic congestion, are still valid.

In other business, the council will consider the assessment rolls for the downtown Parking and Business Improvement Area, as well as the city’s contracts with the PBIA for security and maintenance.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Graphics: 1. Salaries compared; 2. Northwest cities 1996 salaries compared